Some NPCs make excellent allies, others are debilitating nemeses, but some are just sad. In this series of posts we bring you Flawed Foes. These NPCs may once have held great potential, alas, their flaws have created substantial hurdles. Don’t let that stop you from enjoying some good old role-playing fun though!

Carbid was once a champion warrior, idolized by both young and old. Anytime the threat of danger presented itself, Carbid was at the front line, defending his clan with gusto. Many an enemy was slain by his hand, and numerous tales spoke of his bravery.

Over mugs of ale around the warm fires his people would feast and afterward, might pull out cards or dice and play games. Carbid enjoyed the games immensely, and was always happy to make a wager. He quickly developed a gambling problem, and unfortunately, did not have enough skill to back it up. Many a bet was won against the great hero until the clan agreed betting with Carbid, and ultimately taking his money and belongings, showed great disrespect to the warrior who had saved them so many times.

Carbid often tried to convince clan members to wager with him anyway, though they always refused, prompting him to spiral into a rage. His fellows would take cover, waiting for the anger to subside, offering him food and drink and other means of placating him.

One day Carbid was travelling with a few of his clansmen when they came to rest in a tavern a few days journey from their home. It was here he joined a game of cards, against the wishes of his fellows. The game started well enough, and Carbid, excited at the opportunity to gamble, continued to play hand after hand. His opponent quickly turned the tables on him, taking all of Carbid’s valuables in two hands. Certain he could get them back, Carbid begged for one more hand. With nothing physical to offer, the stranger asked for a single favour. Carbid hastily agreed. And lost. With nary a copper to his name, and a favour owed, the dwarf walked away, head low.

The next morning, he and his clansmen were set to return home when the stranger beckoned Carbid over and called in the favor. He asked Carbid to travel east to a nearby lake, defeat the ogre that resides in a cave there, and return with the head. Carbid was eager to return to his people, but he knew he had to stand by his promise. Enlisting the help of his fellows, Carbid set off. The trip took several days, thought the creature was easy enough to locate and defeat. The party returned triumphant a week after they had departed from the tavern. The stranger was not there, but upon inquiring, Carbid was given a note of thanks.

A bit perplexed, Carbid disposed of the head and, with his allies, set off for home. What they found was a grave sight; their clan hold had been burned and the residents slaughtered. The stranger had set them up, eager to have the bravest warriors occupied while he lay waste to the settlement.

Carbid’s companions were furious. Carbid was devastated.

Now haunted by his actions, Carbid travels alone with inferior quality weapons, spending every copper he has on liquor in the hopes of drowning away his sorrows. Carbid suffers from horrific nightmares, causing him to feel tired even after what most would consider to be a restful night’s sleep.

You can find more unique NPCs in our Tangible Taverns and 5e NPC collections on DriveThruRPG.

Last week we gave you sneak peek at Deloris Franz, an antogonist from 5e NPCs: Bullies and Brutes. We know detailed histories and motivations are awesome, but since Deloris is intended to be used in an RPG, stat blocks are handy too, right?

This coming Wednesday, January 18th, Dire Rugrat Publishing is releasing 5e NPCs: Bullies & Brutes. With nearly 40 pages of unique stat blocks, write-ups, and colour art, there’s plenty of NPC goodness. While all of the characters in the book are a bully of some sort, some prefer brawn and others brain; challenges range from 1/2 to 15.

In 1895, U.S. President Grover Cleveland proudly sponsored the first electrically lit Christmas tree in the White House. It was a huge specimen, featuring more than a hundred multicolored lights. The first commercially produced Christmas tree lamps were manufactured in strings of multiples of eight sockets by the General Electric Co. of Harrison, New Jersey. Each socket took a miniature two-candela carbon-filament lamp.

From that point on, electrically illuminated Christmas trees, but only indoors, grew with mounting enthusiasm in the United States and elsewhere. San Diegoin 1904, Appleton, Wisconsin in 1909, and New York City in 1912 were the first recorded instances of the use of Christmas lights outside.

Over a period of time, strings of Christmas lights found their way into use in places other than Christmas trees. Soon, strings of lights adorned mantles and doorways inside homes, and ran along the rafters, roof lines, and porch railings of homes and businesses.

While we all love looking at the bright coloured lights once the job is done, I’m not sure anyone enjoys hanging them. Inside you are tripping over decorations and fighting to get the string around the tree, outside it’s the ladders and the cold weather nipping at your fingers. Either way there is the tangled strings, the burnt out bulbs, and the sheer frustration. It got us daydreaming about possible answers, and with the recent release of Letters from the Flaming Crab: The Household Magic Catalog, the magical solution was right at our finger tips.

EASY PEASY YULE LIGHTS

Is the dreary dark weather of Yule time bringing you down? While warm fires and soft light brighten up the interior of your home, those dark evenings make the outdoors oppressive. Bring a little cheer to the outside of your abode with minimal effort. Our self stringing lights easily brighten up the exterior of any dwelling, and can be hung on a building, a tree, or a fence; the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

This 50 foot length of green silk rope is studded at 6 inch intervals with tiny silver bells. Upon command, the rope snakes forward, upward, downward, or in any other direction the user wishes, at 10 feet per round. The delicate silk rope can fasten itself securely to rough wood, nails, and other non-slick surfaces as its owner desires. It can unfasten itself and return in the same manner.

A length of easy-peasy yule lights can be commanded to light up for four hours. When lit, tiny globes of light form inside the bells and illuminate an area as a torch. The lights can appear as whatever colour or combination of colours the owner desires and can remain static or twinkle at varying speeds as desired.

The process of creating easy-peasy yule lights weakens the rope they are made of. If they are subjected to more than twenty pounds of weight the length of easy-peasy yule lights snaps and become non-functional.